To meet service demands of customers, service providers ensure performance of their communications networks, such as through the use of network operational activities, including fault detection, isolation, and notification. Network operational activities allow service providers to reroute traffic in an event of detection of a fault, thereby sustaining loss of traffic capacity along certain network routes and maintaining service demands of customers. To perform fault detection, isolation, and notification across disparate networks, service providers typically support a variety of service domains. Within a given service domain, network operational activities are monitored, and fault conditions are addressed, either through automated recovery procedures or manual recovery procedures. As a result of the network operational activities, service providers are generally able to demonstrate a robust network to their customers.
As demand for networks, such as the Internet, has grown, service providers have installed new equipment to existing networks. In order to support increased demand further, the newly added equipment often utilizes a faster and more robust communications protocols than legacy equipment. For continuity of service, it is useful that the newly added network equipment operate seamlessly with legacy equipment.